Power surplus in India soon, says Union power minister

The ongoing power cuts in various parts of the country following inadequate coal supplies and lack of adequate infrastructure to carry electricity from power surplus to deficit states notwithstanding, Union power minister Piyush Goyal says he is confident of sailing through the crisis and take the country from being a power deficit nation to one with round the clock power. HT spoke to Goyal on the power crisis.

Excerpts:Inadequate coal availability is being cited for the ongoing power crisis across the country. How do you mitigate this?

We are trying to push for coal supplies from Coal India. Due to deficient monsoon, hydro power supply has gone down. To bridge the shortfall and to avoid shortages, we had to step up thermal generation to make up for the loss of hydro power generation. This has led to higher demand for coal.

As the Modi government completes 100 days in power, what is that one big thing that you would like to do in the power sector?

I am living only one dream and that is to provide 24x7 power across India. I am very clear on this and I am 101% sure that I will achieve this. This government is for building consensus and work out solutions to the problems that are lying unaddressed for many years.

How will the SC decision improve coal availability in India?

We are awaiting Supreme Court final view on how the coal mines “illegally” allocated between 1993 and 2010 should be treated. The Centre will act quickly once the SC delivers its final view on the coal mines allocation.